Elburn housing plan would address shortfall

ELBURN—Elburn officials recently created an affordable housing plan, based on the village falling short of the state’s required 10 percent affordable housing, per the most recent census data.

At 9.7 percent, Elburn is just three thenths of a point shy of the 10 percent affordable housing goal established by the 2004 Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act. The Act, created to address the lack of moderately priced housing in many communities, requires that those communities of 1,000 residents or more who fall short of the 10 percent goal come up with an affordable housing plan to address the deficiency.

Although Elburn’s deficiency is small compared to some other communities, village officials said they felt that having adequate affordable housing fits with the village’s vision for itself.

Trustee Bill Grabarek, who has agreed to help steer the plan, said he feels strongly that Elburn should be a place where individuals of all ages and levels of economic status can afford to stay within the village to live out their entire life-span.

Whether an individual has spent their childhood in Elburn and is looking for a place to live when they graduate, or older families who have recently retired and want to remain here, or local government workers, such as teachers, fire-fighters or police officers who want to live where they work, Grabarek said there should be affordable rental units or other housing for them.

With a population of 5,461 and total units of 1,659, the village’s current total affordable housing units is 161. Meeting the standard would mean increasing the number of those units to 166.

“I would ask the board to approve the plan,” Grabarek said. “It sends a message out that we believe in inclusion and want to allow people to stay within the village.”